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kpi_strength

Identify potential, Build self-belief, Enhance your performance. We specialize in training baseball and softball players. 🦍 💨!

Check out our Tik Tok account “@kpi_mh” @kpi_b

Check out our Tik Tok account “@kpi_mh” @kpi_baseball @kpi_softball

The current model for player development is called

The current model for player development is called the “Participation Model” the more I participate the better I get, and more likely I get to the next level.

Youth to HS to College to Pro

This model currently has a 90% failure rate HS to College and a 99% failure rate College to Pro.

Why?

It focuses on completely subjective measurements to determine who is the best. Wins and losses, batting average, ERA etc.

It also relies on amateur evaluators. The players deemed the best at youth ages 12-14 are expected to be the most successful at the next level. But time and time again, we know this isn’t true!

That’s why we aim to flipping this model on its head. Objective measurements and assessments to determine player potential.

@aidan.keenan13 is getting a lot of attention right now but he wasn’t the “best” player when he was 12-14 years old.

He was the kid who pitched on Saturday cause he didn’t throw hard enough to blow it by the competition in bracket play on Sunday.

Our assessment process at the start of his 7th grade year highlighted a few physical traits that would give him a ton of advantages when he got older. He just needed to train hard and focus on developing in the weight room and stay HEALTHY!!!

Proud to know the habits he developed at a young age, his consistent effort, and ultimately trust in a process that uses objective data to guide his development is paying huge dividends!

#kpicrew #baseball #softball

Should your knees go over your toes when you squat

Should your knees go over your toes when you squat?

We have posted about squatting your deadlift but haven’t posted on deadlifting your squat.

Each lift used has been influenced by two areas of strength and conditioning. Some by body building, only target certain muscles when lifting. Others by powerlifting, figure out a way to lift as much weight at possible.

Athletes are neither of these and we must train them to function on the field. Hence, making sure the squat their squats.

How do we know?

Just like the deadlift, the hips and torso should stay connected in a neutral position with the hips being the area that generates movement.

For a squat, the hips and torso should stay connected, but the knees should be where most of the movement comes from, they should go over your toes, if you have the range of motion and control!

#kpicrew #softball #baseball

We talk about training full range of motion but it

We talk about training full range of motion but it’s typically reserved for the lower body!

Each joint needs control for the full range of motion. The shoulder is no different.

Passive range of motion = what you have.

Active range of motion = what you are in control of.

Big discrepancy in the passive and the active means increased opportunity for injury.

When you do your arm care, make sure to go full range of motion without compromising your body position.

#kpicrew #baseball #softball

Match the exercise to the athlete! As a strength

Match the exercise to the athlete!

As a strength coach we must have the expertise to match our exercises to the athlete vs. forcing them to perform a lift they may/may not be able to perform.

Deadlifting is a great exercise and has a ton of benefits but if a player doesn’t have the mobility to get into the proper position, it could do more harm that good.

Look at the shin angle on the first video.

With that much forward lean, he won’t have space to pull the bar up in an efficient path and maintain his hinge.

You can see his knees dip forward and hips tuck under.

By elevating the bar, we match the height to his capabilities and keep his lower back safer.

Second video, better shin position, better hinge, maintains tension of the muscles we want working! Still has some work to do on the head positioning.

#kpicrew #baseball #softball

Been hitting on physical assessments as we prepare

Been hitting on physical assessments as we prepare for the upcoming summer program and wanted to highlight another part of the process.

We have run enough assessments to know that how the body moves influences how we perform, hence starting with a physical assessment.

That’s only half the equation!

We look at the metrics we know give players the best chance to succeed on the field and test in as game-like an environment as possible.

So metrics for hitters are off a pitching machine at game speeds, typically 70-80 mph for our HS players. Bullpens are obviously off a mound.

#kpicrew #assessdontguess #baseball #softball

Every athlete who trains with us goes through a ge

Every athlete who trains with us goes through a general assessment. This includes a review of your background, injury history, and a goal setting session.

After that they go through a joint-by-joint physical assessment and movement screen.

One of the more important ones is an assessment of your spine mobility.

The upper spine is crucial to hitters, specifically power and adjustability. The more range of motion they have and the more they control that range of motion, the more pitches they can get to!

Check out this screen!

Many softball players “FEEL” tight. So they stretch and stretch and stretch...

When in reality they need more STABILITY, strength in the range of motions they want to achieve on the field.

Stretching more will only add more issues!

Assess don’t guess! General assessments are $99 and an advanced assessment is $399. Both are included in your training if you sign up.

We start June 7th, so be sure to get your assessment scheduled!

#kpicrew #baseball #softball

Keeping the posting going on results of the Winter

Keeping the posting going on results of the Winter Development Program!
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A huge key performance indicator is size!
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Most youth players, 12-15 years old, performances are heavily influenced by their size.
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The bigger kids hit the ball the hardest, throw the fastest, and get the most opportunities.
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Once we get past 10th grade this starts to even out but we know that the athletes with the most muscle mass have higher potential success on the field.
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The sweet spot is 180-210 pounds for our high school athletes, obviously accounting for proper body composition.
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Our WDP athletes gained on average 3.8 pounds, with the biggest gains averaging 10+ lbs of mass!
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#kpicrew #baseball #bombsquad #punchoutposse

Quick tip on proper form, specifically for our fem

Quick tip on proper form, specifically for our female athletes.
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We want to keep a neutral spine during a majority of lifts. Athletes who have a lot of spine mobility, which is good, might over arch their back to get stability during the lift.
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Dynamic vs static stability
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When you over arch, you are relying on static stability to protect the spine. BAD!
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By keeping a neutral spine, the muscles of the core, protect the spine. GOOD!
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Check out @lykacharms08 crushing the demo!!!
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#kpicrew

We have had the unfortunate task of helping severa

We have had the unfortunate task of helping several players return to throwing due to varying degrees of injury.
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Baseball/softball players have about a 50/50 chance of injuring their arm. One of the biggest obstacles to overcome is the mind.
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Most times players have thrown thru some discomfort or soreness for a while so they start to associate throwing with that feeling.
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It will change the way you throw! (Video 1).
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The body doesn’t want to feel soreness or pain so it will find a way around it. Short, pushy, throws, that resemble a dart throw vs. an actual throw.
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Here is one way to breakdown this association.
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Change everything in the environment but the act of throwing.
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Throw into a wall vs. a partner
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Throw a bright red ball vs. a baseball
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These are two of the ways we typically change things. Give them some proper drills and coaching and you get video 2.
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#kpicrew

Looking to prepare your arm for the season? - Here

Looking to prepare your arm for the season?
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Here is a great example of how @kineticperformanceinstitute blends the worlds of player development.
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We apply weight room techniques to the skill side of development.
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In the weight room we use reps, sets, and weight to determine the intensity and volume a player experiences. Intensity and volume are inversely related, meaning when volume goes up, intensity should go down and vice versa. We do this to first keep players safe. Think of a workout you do right after a long break and you try and do what you used to do. You are super sore and it takes forever to get back to normal. -
We do the same thing with our throwing programs. Volume is simple, the number of throws. But intensity is much harder if you don’t have a way to measure it. We use a radar gun to get feedback on your intensity level.
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This does two things!
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Ensures we don’t expose the body to too much stress to quick, too fast!
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And allows us to gradually expose it to higher intensity levels that you are going to see in games.
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Check out the easiest 70 mph throw we have seen by @mckennacampbell2023 and @landonxstump sitting at 89 mph. 🧀
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#kpicrew

Love these two exercises! - Lots of kids ask, what

Love these two exercises!
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Lots of kids ask, what’s the difference between them.
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The 1-leg deadlift focuses on concentric strength, pulling from the ground, and teaches athletes how to take tension out of the body.
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This can help with acceleration.
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The 1-leg RDL focuses on eccentric strength, control of single hip stability, and accepting force at the hip.
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This can help with change of direction and top end speed.
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For our baseball and softball players generating force with one leg, transferring it to the other, accepting that force and redirecting it is pretty important.
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#kpicrew

Feet-elevated Push Up w/Chains - Our resident gymn

Feet-elevated Push Up w/Chains
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Our resident gymnast @saratran.2023 crushing some push ups! Arguably lb for lb one of strongest athletes in the gym!!
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Why chains?
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The chains provide variable resistance. As she lowers to the bottom of the push up, the chains lower onto the ground and there is less weight on her back.
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The top of a push up is the strongest position, body weight alone won’t provide much stimulus to the body. When the chains are added, the top is challenged more, more chains off the ground. As she lowers, the bottom of the push up is the weakest point in the movement, less chains, less challenging.
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Variable resistance is a good way to challenge the entire movement, not just the weakest point.
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#kpicrew

Continue to raise the bar! - #punintended #kpicrew

Continue to raise the bar!
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#punintended #kpicrew

Why should youth athletes train? - When should the

Why should youth athletes train?
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When should they train?
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Is it safe?
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Youth athletes should train for multiple reasons!!!
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Training focuses on developing specific characteristics and changes that will benefit the athlete in the long run and help them achieve their goals.
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Where as many youth athletes merely exercise. Conditioning, punishment running, burpees, crunches etc. Just make them tired and don’t get them closer to their goals!
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Training is purposeful, designed, and planned to account for everything the athlete is experiencing on and off the field to keep them safe and reduce the chances of getting injured.
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They should start once they have the mental capacity, maturity, and focus to do so. A training program should be individualized to the athletes chronological age and developmental age.
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Throwing, swinging, pitching, sprinting etc. all have higher injury rates that training in a gym, especially when ran by a professional. Individualization is a great way to keep athletes safe and on the field developing.
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At a young age, the healthier you are, the more opportunity you have to work on actually getting better!
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#kpicrew

Single leg strength is extremely important for sof

Single leg strength is extremely important for softball players!
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Check out @allyforbell crushing 135 for reps on a 1-leg Elevated Barbell Deadlift.
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This is a strength goal for every athlete at KPI. Remember strength is a tool, not the goal!
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Athletes who are looking to improve mechanics, whether it’s swinging or throwing, should start with strength. As you start checking the strength boxes, it will be easier to change the “poor mechanics.”
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The best part is as you develop strength, you increase movement capacity, which will directly influence “mechanics.” The earlier you start this and concurrently work on developing your skill, the better opportunity you will have at reaching your full potential!
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#kpicrew

Before we talk about the differences in the moveme

Speed development! - Everyone wants to get faster,

Speed development!
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Everyone wants to get faster, especially the softball population. Why? Speed is a huge recruitable skill.
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@anastacia.delatorre shaved 3 tenths of a second off her 10 yard dash. That’s a huge jump!
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How do you think she did it?
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Speed drills, agility drills, up hill sprints, sleds, etc.?
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She did some of that but a majority of her program focused on strength development. Some athletes need to be able to put more force into the ground to get faster, build a bigger engine. That was the individualized focus for her! (She also hasn’t missed a workout for a year straight...)
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#kpicrew

Looking for a one stop shop for getting better thi

Looking for a one stop shop for getting better this spring?
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Check out our Youth Development Program.
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Skill, strength, arm care, etc. All in one session to maximize efficiency and allows athletes to get to know @kineticperformanceinstitute’s training systems so they can hit the ground running in our HS programs!
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#kpicrew

In-season training tip! - We want to keep/maintain

In-season training tip!
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We want to keep/maintain the gains we made this off season, since it was one of the longest “off seasons” to date.
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But we don’t want to double up on the stress that we are going to feel from the addition of games.
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Just saw @jacquimcleann’s HS schedule and she will have 2-4 games and 3-5 practices a week. This is going to be a lot of stress, especially for her lower back.
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The lower back is an area most softball/baseball coaches don’t worry about but the rotational aspect of throwing and hitting puts a lot of torque there.
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How can we minimize doubling up the stress in the weight room?
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First, prioritize proper form and have a coach make sure you are doing it right. That can be in-person or via video. We use TRAQ to allow athletes to send videos to us, typically skill, but strength videos can be sent too!
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Secondly, adjust the exercises! Notice how these are elevated deadlifts. This is a common exercises change that allows us to get the benefits of deadlifts but reduce some of the stress to the lower back.
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We employ this with many of the athletes who are new to training and as we increase the amount of swinging and throwing outside of their normal training routine!
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#kpicrew

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